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Norosi
THIS PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION Norosi is a Slavic, priori, caseless metaconlang invented by Reddit user izon514 for the fictional nation of Nordroska. Goals of Norosi 1. To create a distinctive phonology with a versatile, familiar and predictable alphabet that can be typed in a browser, without redundancies, digraphs, ambiguity and unneeded complexity 2. To create grammar that is intuitive, unambiguous and easy to learn by incorporating no feature that adds more complexity than it does information content. 3. To create specificity where ambiguity normally prevails. Create a language whose dictionary is both more specific yet more compact by eliminating synonyms, antonyms and homonyms; capable of expressing complex thoughts without an undue amount of words 4. To create efficiency of understanding and usage of: a. Cognition b. Semantics c. Alphabet d. Dictionary e. Grammar Traits · Phonetic – meaning that words are spelled the way they sound and sound the way they are spelled. Consequently this means there are: · Autonomous language - also known as a schematic language. An autonomous language has a priori grammar, meaning the grammar is not borrowed from an existing language. Autonomous languages have a posteriori vocabulary, meaning the vocabulary is similar or identical to existing languages; in this case various Slavic languages. So Norosi has a unique grammar but a vocabulary resembling Russian. · Synthetic – A synthetic language has a large amount of morphemes per word. A morpheme is the smallest meaningful word in a language. Supernatural has two morphemes, super-, meaning exceeding, and –''natural'', meaning of nature. Many Norosi words are formed like this. Adjectives and adverbs are frequently joined with the words they describe to form a single word. · Caseless – There is no “''me''” counterpart to “''I''” nor the “''them''” counterpart to “''they''”. In English, when a noun changes according to its function in the sentence that is called case structure. This does not exist in Norosi, so it is correct to say “Give that book to I.” · Gender neutrality – apart from the gendered pronouns he and she, it lacks gendered nouns almost entirely. Waiter and waitress are not two separate words in Norosi, there is only a single gender neutral noun'' attendant''. The same goes for all gender specific nouns like king and queen and butler and maid. There is only monarch and servant. · Unified adjectives and adverbs – Adjectives and adverbs are the same part of speech. The words quick and quickly and accidental and accidentally are the same words. · No synonyms – Different words for the same concept. There is a word for quick, fast, swift, fleeting, etc., but they all translate to the same word and it has no synonyms. · No antonyms – Word for the opposite of something. There exists no word for slow because it is the antonym for fast. To express the word slow is to express the word un-fast. The same goes for good and bad, there is a word for good but no word for bad, only un-good. · No degrees - English has words that describe varying degrees of good such as great, excellent, spectacular, ''and outstanding''. Such words do not exist in Norosi. Great is literally very-good, terrible is literally very-un-good. · No homographs – words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently, such as bow (of a ship) and bow (and arrow) · No homophones – words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently, such as their, they’re and there or to, too and two · No heteronyms – words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently and have different meanings, such as tear (to rip) and tear ''(from crying) · '''No capitonyms' – words that have the same spelling but many different meanings or pronunciations depending on capitalization, such as polish (to shine) and Polish (being from Poland) or march (organized walking) and March (the month of). · No polysemes '– words with the same spelling but distant and related but not identical meanings such as ''mouth (of a cave) and mouth (of a person). =Alphabet= The Norosi alphabet is a modified, thirty-letter Russian alphabet with a few symbols from other alphabets. It contains · Six vowels (red) · Two semi-vowels (green) · Twenty-three consonants (blue) · One sign character (orange). The alphabet is both the starting point for the language and the origin of the project as a whole. Development of Norosi started with a mix between the English and Russian alphabets being stripped of all redundancies, digraphs and affricatives. Next, phonemic holes were filled in and letters borrowed from other languages used to represent the new sounds. Finally, a sign letter, originally stripped out of Russian, was added back in as Norosi developed and needed a way to represent stress. The above alphabet is in order, left to right, top to bottom. The IPA symbol for each letter is indicated in slashes below the character. If you cannot read IPA symbols, the following is a brief lesson on the pronunciation of each letter. Letters which are almost the same · '''A a A (Ah) Pronounced like the “A” in “father” · E e Eтa (Eta) Pronounced like the “E” in “bet” · I ι '''Iйo (Iyo) Pronounced like the “I” in “bit” · '''O o O (Oh) Pronounced like the “O” in “ore” · К к Кa (Kah) Pronounced like the “K” in “king” · M м Eм (Em) Pronounced like the “M” in “man” · T т Te (Teh) Pronounced like the “T” in “tap” Letters which look the same but sound different · У у Y (Oo) Pronounced like the “oo” in “boot” · X x Xa (Kha) Pronounced like the “ch” sound in “loch” or “Bach” · P p Po (Ro) Pronounced like the trilled “R” in “tree” · H н Eн (En) Pronounced like the “N” in “no” · B в Be (Veh) Pronounced like the “V” in “vet” Letters which look different but sound the same · И и И (Ee) Pronounced like the “I” in “taxi” · П п 'Пᴇ (Peh) Pronounced like the “P” in “pet” without the aspiration · 'Б б Бe (Beh) Pronounced like the “B” in “bet” without the aspiration · Й''' 'й''' И-крaткo Ee-kratko. Pronounced like the “Y” in “yes” · '''Ў' 'ў''' У-крaткo U-kratko. Pronounced like the “W” in “win” · Г г Гe (Geh) Pronounced like the “G” in “get”, never like the English J. · Л л Eл (El) Pronounced like the “L” in “lamp” · Ф φ 'Фи (Fii) Pronounced like the “F” in “fat” · 'Д д Дe (Deh) Pronounced like the “D” in “dad” · C c Ec (Es) Pronounced like the “S” in “set” never like З · З з 'Зeт (Zet) Pronounced like the “Z” in “zoo”, not to be confused with three · 'Ч ч Чaў (How) Pronounced like the “H” in “hat” Letters which are foreign · Џ џ Џa (Gha) This is a difficult letter for English speakers to comprehend, so thankfully it is rare. Try pronouncing the “ch” in “loch”, only instead of the “Kh” sound try producing a “Gh” sound. That sound is Џ. · '''Ѳ' ѳ Ѳeт (Thet) Pronounced like the “Th” in “thing” · 'Ψ ψ 'Ψaи (Thy) Pronounced like the “Th” in “that” or “there” · 'Ш ш 'Шa (Shah) Pronounced like the “Sh” in “she” · 'Ж ж 'Жe (Zheh) Pronounced like the “S” in “leisure” or “fusion” · 'Ь ь 'Усιл (Ucil) Marks the end of stressed syllables, morphemes or words. o '''Lexical Stress: When found in word, the preceding syllable is stressed. o Morphemic Stress:' '''When found after a morpheme in a sentence, that morpheme in that word is stressed. o '''Prosodic Stress:' When found in a sentence, the preceding word is stressed. =Numbers= Ones, Tens, Hundreds and Thousands Norosi numbers are easy; it uses the numbers zero through ten and every multiple of ten as root words for generating all the other numbers. This is similar to how there is no unique English word for “eight hundred”. Likewise, Norosi does not have a unique word similar to “eighty”, and this word translated literally means “eight ten”. There are no –teen words either. Remember that Norosi is synthetic. It is appropriate to append one word to another in the form of an affix. In the examples below you can see that multiples of ten, hundreds and thousands are simply that many of tens, hundreds or thousands followed by the appropriate suffix. 0 Hoл x0 -'Дec '''x00 -'''Cтo '''x000' -Tιc ' 1 '''Aн' 10 Aндec '''100 '''Aнcтo '''1000 '''Aнтιc 2 Двa 20 Двaдec '200 'Двacтo '2000 'Двaтιc 3 Tpи 30 Tpидec '300 '''Tpиcтo '''3000 '''Tpитιc '''4 'Квa 40 Квaдec 400 Квacтo '4000 'Квaтιc 5 Пйa 50 Пйaдec '500 'Пйacтo '5000 'Пйaтιc 6 Шec '60 'Шecдec '600 'Шecтo* '6000 'Шecтιc 7 Ceм 70 Ceмдec '''700 '''Ceмcтo '''7000 '''Ceмтιc 8 Oк 80 Oкдec '''800 '''Oкcтo '''8000 '''Oктιc 9 Hy '''90 '''Hyдec '''900 '''Hycтo '''9000 '''Hyтιc ' ' * In Norosi, as depicted in the word Шecтo above, repeated letters are not allowed. After fusion the word six-hundred ''would be spelled 'Шeccтo''' (Шec+ cтo), it is not, the repeated c''' is dropped. Here are some examples of how roots combine to form larger numbers. 27 'Двaдeceм '''375 '''Tpиcтo-ceмдecпйa '''56,000 'Пйaдecшec-тιc '''95 '''Hyдecпйa '''102 '''Aнcтo-двa '''11,000 Aндecaн-тιc 81 'Oкдecaн '''690 'Шecтo-нyдec '100,000 '''Aнcтo-тιc '''12 '''Aндecдвa '''246 'Двacтo-квaдecшec '700,000 'Шecтo-тιc Take Двycтo'-'квaдecшec for example. Двa cтo'- 'квaдec 'шec'Two hundred forty six Thousands and Beyond Once numbers become sufficiently large, digit grouping identical comes into effect. This is accomplished by bundling all number words that fall together in a group with dashes, other number groups follow with spaces. 1,929 Aнтιc 'нy'cтo-'двa'дecнy 10,929 Aндec'-тιc' 'нy'cтo-'двa'дecнy '20,929 'Двaдecтιc 'н'ycтo-'д'вaдecнy '250,000 'Двacтo-пйaдec-тιc 144,000 Aнcтo-квaдecквa-тιc 144,211 Aнcтo-квaдecквa-тιc двacтo-aндecaн' '''744,211 '''Ceмcтo-квaдecквa-тιc двacтo-aндecaн' Million Mιл 'Billion 'Бιл 'Trillion '''Tpιл '''Quadrillion 'Кўaдpιл ''' Alternative Numbering Conventions You are free to use alternative conventions to state numbers other than the usual thousands-hundreds-tens grouping. Like in English, it is acceptable to reference values between 1000 and 9999 whose second digit is not zero in units of hundreds (e.g. 3200 = thirty-two hundred) followed by tens separated with dashes. All of these conventions are considered informal to extremely informal and are almost never used in writing. 1450 '''Aндecквa-cтo пйaдec Fourteen-hundred fifty Aндecквa пйaдec' '''Fourteen-fifty' 6192 '''Шecдecaн-cтo нyдecдвa Sixty-one hundred ninety-two Шecдecaн нyдecдвa' '''Sixty-one ninety-two 690 'Шec нyдec''' ''' Six-ninety 756 '''Ceм пйaдec' '''Seven-fifty-six 1186 '''Aндecaн ocтдecшec' Eleven-eighty-six 747 Ceм-квaдeceм Seven-forty-seven Ceм-квa'-'ceм ''' Seven-four-seven 101 '''Aнoлaн One-oh-one Ordinals Norosi numbers follow commonly perceived patterns; however it does have one notable departure from the rest of the world. Normally first place is considered to be the highest rank, in every country except Nordroska. Nordroskans organize ordinations not by distance from one, but rather zero, the best prize is zeroth place, the next best is first place (one position from best). However these translations work cleanly regardless of the base used. Prizes awarded in Nordroska say “zeroth place”, however Nordroskans know that prizes awarded on other continents regard first place as being the best. Despite this complication, Norosi also has a simple system for naming ordinals. · If the number ends in a consonant, use the suffix –acaт · If the number ends in a vowel, use the suffix –caт. “Zeroth” Hoнacaт First A'нacaт '''Second 'Дваcaт''' Third Tpиcaт Fourth K'вacaт' Fifth Пйacaт Sixth Шecacaт Seventh Ceмacaт Eighth O'кacaт' Nineth Hycaт Tenth A'ндecacaт ' The same number formulation system holds for compound ordinals, such as 6385th Шecтιc тpиcтo-oкдecпйacaт ' Fractions Norosi uses the above system to compose fractions of numbers. Fractional amounts are specified by stating first the numerator in ordinal form using the contracted suffix -'''acaж / '-'''caж. This suffix is an ancient contraction of the ordinal suffix –acaт, mentioned previously, and the word жy, the Norosi word for “part of”. The word three-fifths thus resembles the phrase “''third of five''”. =METRICS= Metrics are methods of measurement. Units of things are defined in Norosi the same way that every other language does, by appending the type of unit to the end of a number, and making it plural if necessary. Values of zero or less than one or negative one however are not pluralized (“point seven kilogram”, not kilograms). Common units of measurement such as kilogram or kilometers-per-hour have colloquial names in Norosi, similar to how English sometimes uses the word klik to represent kilometer. Nordroska uses the Metric system (Mетрик система). Purpose English Symbol Norosi /Colloquialism Symbol ' Metric Prefixes 10-9 nano- n 'нано 'н 10-6 micro- μ 'микро 'y 10-3 milli- m 'мили 'м 103 kilo- K 'кило 'К 106 mega- M 'мега 'M 109 giga G 'гига 'Г Length Standard length meter m 'метр M 1000 meters kilometer km километр / 'ки ' КM Astronomical len. astronom. unit AU астрономитшес един AE Interstellar len. Light year Ly свето год CГ Parsec pc парсек ' ПC Velocity Travel Kilometer / hr. km/h 'килoметр ип т'шас / 'кит КM/T Physics Meter / sec. m/s метр ип секунд M/c Temperature Dimension Degree ° градус Џ, Џрад International Celcius C Cелсийa / градуси ЏC Metric/SI Kelvin K Kелвин ЏК Imperial Fahrenheit F Фаренчaйт ЏФ Mass Standard mass gram g грам 'г 1000 grams kilogram kg 'килограм / кило 'Кг 1000 kilograms metric ton t 'тона (ж) T Quantity Molecular quantity mole mol мол ' мол Volume liter l, L 'литр л Magnetism Strength tesla T тесла тл Flux weber Wb Ўебер Ўб Light Intensity candela cd кандела Кн Flux lumen lm лумен ' Лм Illuminance lux lx 'лyкс Лк Electricity Current ampere A ампер / амп A Charge coulomb C кулом ' К Voltage volt V 'волт ' В Capacitance farad F 'φарад (ж) Ф Resistance ohm Ω ом Ω Conductance siemens S cимен Cм Inductance henry H чeнpи Чн Energy, Work and Power Power watt W Ўат Ў Energy, Work joule J джоул Дж Energy electron volt eV eлектрон волт EB Pressure and Force Pressure pascal Pa паскал Па Reference pressure standard atm atm стандарт атмосфер Caтм Kg/cm^2 pressure technical atm at технитшe атмосфер Taтм Force newton N нyтон ' H Radiation Radioactivity becquerel Bq 'бекўерел Бк Absorbed dose gray Gy грeй ' Гр Dose equivalent sievert Sv 'сиверт Св Exposure röntgen R рентген Pг Math Angular measure degree ° џрадyc Џa radians rad радйан Рад Frequency hertz Hz чертc Чc Time Second s, sec секунд c, сек Minute m, min минут м, мин Hour h, hr т'шас' тш Day D ден Д Week W, Wk неделйa Hд Month M, Mo месйaтc M, Me Year Y, Yr год Г Decade - aндecгод '- Century - '''aнcтoгод '- Millennium - 'aнтιcгод '- =Nouns and Pronouns= English has thirty four personal, possessive and reflexive pronouns, Norosi has just fifteen. Norosi pronouns do not distinguish between subjects and objects and reflexivity is indicated by a suffix. Possession is indicated by either placing the noun next to the object, indicating direct possession, or by using a preposition. Singular Pronouns · 1st person '''Яa I/me · 2nd person Tι You · 3rd person male Oн He/him · 3rd person female Oнa '''She/her · 3rd person neutral '''Oнy Used when the gender is unknown · 3rd person animate O'шa' It, describes animals and things that frequently move* · 3rd person inanimate Оно It, describes inanimate objects · 4th person generic Шaн '''A generic person unrelated to the subject similar to the word “one” in “One does not simply walk into Mordor.” It references no specific person but rather a person in general. Plural Pronouns · 1st person inclusive '''Mι We/us, includes the person being addressed · 1st person exclusive Boйa We/us, does not include the person being addressed · 2nd person Bι ‘You all’ · 3rd person human Oни''' They, a group of humans · 3rd person animate '''Oшy They, a group of animals or things that frequently move* · 3rd person inanimate Онои''' They, a group of inanimate objects · 4th person generic '''Шaни '''Similar to the word “they” in “You know what they say…” Animacy Animacy in Norosi has a slightly different connotation. This definition can include but are not limited to vehicles and other manmade objects that accomplish their function by moving, storms, objects in constant motion, celestial objects, water, collective nouns referencing people, etc. All sentient things are animate, but not all animate things are sentient. All animate things move, but not all moving things are animate. Here are some examples: Animate Objects Inanimate Objects '''Cобака dog Башнйa ''tower'' Л'уна' Earth’s moon '' 'Грайа''' Earth Чyрιка hurricane Oблако ''cloud'' Aто car Поклонιк ''fan '' Пулйa ''bullet'' Pуже gun '' '''Mетш' sword 'O'φιcaстул office chair You will notice that Earth is listed as an inanimate object despite being a celestial object, but the moon is not, because relatively speaking it does not normally move. An office chair is inanimate despite having wheels and being able to swivel, because even if it was incapable of doing so, it could still perform its function. Demonstrative Pronouns English has support for the words this/that and these/those for things and here/there for locations. There is also the archaic word yonder, which is a distant location. Norosi demonstrative pronouns expand support to cover all six classes of nouns (person, place, thing, idea, action and quality) and three locations (near the speaker, near the listener, near neither) and number. The otherwise proximity means that what the noun is near is irrelevant, unknown or far away from both the speaker and listener or the speaker is merely speaking in general terms. Thirty six demonstrative pronouns may seem like a lot to memorize, but there is a method to it. All Norosi demonstrative pronouns begin with one of six roots that are assumed to be near the speaker. For nouns near the listener, add –o to the pronoun. For distant locations, add –c to that further. Plurals of these three forms are made by adding –'и' after ending consonants, and –'й' after an ending vowel. Class Number Near Speaker Near Listener Otherwise ' Person Singular '''Bec Beco Becoc ' Plural '''Becи Becoй Becocи ''' Place Singular '''Ec Eco Ecoc '''Plural '''Ecи Ecoй Ecocи''' Thing Singular E'т ''' '''E'тo E'тoc''' Plural '''E'ти E'тoй E'тocи ' Persons, places and things might seem easy for English speakers to comprehend, however there are also demonstrative pronouns for abstract things. These include ideas held by a person or people, actions performed, or qualities in someone or something. In this circumstance proximity references who or what possesses the trait, has the idea, or does the action. '''Class Number Near Speaker Near Listener Otherwise ' Idea Singular Oct Octo Octoc Plural Octи Octoй Octocи''' Action Singular '''Двac 'Двaco 'Двacoc Plural Двacи Двacoй 'Двacoc'и Quality Singular Caв Caвo* Caвoc Plural Caви''' Caвoй ' ''''Caвocи ' Remember that English only has translations for seven of these, '''e'т''' (here), e'тo' (there), e'тoc' (yonder), ec (this), ecи''' (these), '''eco (that), ecoй''' (those). English adds specificity to words like “these” by adding words like “these people” or “these qualities”, while Norosi combines the referred noun into the word. That being said, the remainder of these words might not have intuitive meanings yet so it may take multiple words to express these concepts, so here are some examples. This person speaker '''Bec '''These people speaker '''Becи '''Those places there '''Eтocи This thing speaker does Двac Those traits person has Tшycи '''These ideas listener '''Octoй''' These people speaker '''Becи ' ' Category:Languages